PVLF 2025

Artist Withdraws from Bradford Literature Festival Over AI-Generated Marketing Images

People had called me out for attending a festival where they were employing AI-generated artwork, according to Mr. Mould, who is currently residing in Liversedge, West Yorkshire.
on May 08, 2023

The Bradford Literature Festival's marketing pictures were created using artificial intelligence (AI), which has caused a book artist to withdraw.

Chris Mould was scheduled to give a lesson at the occasion, but he has backed out, saying: "How can I stand under their roof and tell people they can go to art school?"

He said that, as a "Bradford lad," it had been an honor to be scheduled but that he withdrew when the employment of AI was established.

According to the festival, it is dedicated to "supporting creative careers."Speakers scheduled for the festival, which will take place from June 23 to July 2, include Sir Lenny Henry, Sir Michael Palin, and Lemn Sissay.

People had called me out for attending a festival where they were employing AI-generated artwork, according to Mr. Mould, who is currently residing in Liversedge, West Yorkshire.

could see their point, but it wasn't something I was aware of; I'd seen the images and thought they were digital artwork, but I hadn't examined them," the speaker said.

The artist and author said that after asking someone at the event if the photographs were artificial intelligence (AI) created, he immediately sent them an email requesting that they withdraw.

He explained: "My problem was that I talked about my professional career, the books I illustrated, and the books I wrote at my presentations.

"Because I work in many underprivileged places and there are many students who don't have the opportunity to get into creative work, I also try to push the notion of creating jobs when I work in schools and when I'm on the road.

My concern was how I could inform people they could attend art school and work in these fields while standing underneath their roof if the publicity for the event was created with the click of a button.

The Society of Authors (SoA) CEO Nicola Solomon also expressed her concerns in a letter to Syima Aslam, the festival's director.

A "constructive response" and "an invitation to discuss and engage further on this complex issue" were both received, according to her, she added.

According to Ms. Solomon, "We (and many SoA members) were extremely disappointed to learn that Bradford Literature Festival is promoting this year's line-up using AI-generated images. Bradford Literature Festival is a cultural outreach program encompassing the best of literature, music, theatre, cultural discussions, lectures, and family events.

In response, Ms. Aslam stated that the festival "routinely commissions and employs artists of all varieties, including illustrators and digital artists, and pays the market rate for all services."

She continued by saying it "should have been more explicit about the use of AI tools and the potential issues that this entailed" and that it engaged a small, local commercial design agency to work on this year's campaign.